TBM Dorothy - HS2 Long Itchington Wood Tunnel
Long Itchington Wood, Warwickshire, UK · 2021-2023 · £87.7bn - £102.7bn (HS2 project total, 2025 prices)
The judgement call
Account-gated at launchNamed after Dorothy Hodgkin. Completed its 1.6km first bore and then a second bore. It was the first TBM on the Midlands section of HS2. Lessons learned from Dorothy's excavation helped with other TBMs like Mary Ann.
Key engineering challenges
Tunnelling through varying ground conditions. - First deep tunnel on the HS2 project.
Project facts
- Client / owner
- HS2 Ltd.
- Lead contractor
- Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV)
- Lead designers
- —
- Project type
- new build
- Scale
- TBM length: 125m; Tunnel length: 1.6km (1 mile) twin-bore tunnel
- Disciplines
- civil; structural; mechanical; electrical; systems; tunnelling; geotechnical
- Standards & frameworks
- UK railway standards, CDM Regulations (implied).
Sources: New Civil Engineer (https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/hs2-tbm-dorothy-completes-second-drive-underneath-long-itchington-wood-30-03-2023/) - Balfour Beatty VINCI (https://balfourbeattyvinci.co.uk/hs2-marks-major-construction-milestone-at-long-itchington-wood-tunnel/) - TUC Magazine (https://tucmagazine.org/hs2-tunneling-team-celebrates-breakthrough-at-long-itchington-wood-tunnel/) - BBC News (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpq2len1weyo) - HS2.org.uk (https://www.hs2.org.uk/building-hs2/tunnels/twin-bore-tunnels/)